Police diving

Police diving is a branch of professional diving carried out by police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

services. Police divers are usually sworn police officers, and may either be employed full-time as divers or as general water police

Water police

Water police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organisation, who patrol in water craft...

officers, or be volunteers who usually serve in other units but are called in if their diving services are required.

The duties carried out by police divers include rescue diving for underwater casualties and search and recovery diving for evidence

Evidence

Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...

and bodies.

"Public safety diving" is a term coined by Steven J Linton in the 1970s to describe underwater rescue, underwater recovery and underwater investigation conducted by divers working for or under the authority of municipal, state or federal agencies. These divers are typically members of police departments, sheriff's offices, fire rescue agencies, search and rescue teams or providers of emergency medical services. Public Safety Divers (PSDs) can be paid by the previously mentioned agencies or non-paid volunteers.

The National Academy of Police Diving (NAPD) was made in 1988 by a group of police divers to create a National Standard for police and public safety diver training and certification. It has helped provide training for police officers, fire departments, military divers, and environmental investigators in the following locations, North America, Central America, Russia, Australia, and the Caribbean.